On October 6, 2014 the Supreme Court issued a set of orders declining to review seven petitions filed in five states and across three federal circuits, refusing without comment to review lower court rulings striking down bans on same-sex marriages. With nearly immediate effect, bans on same-sex marriage were lifted across Virginia (Fourth Circuit); Indiana and Wisconsin (Seventh Circuit), Oklahoma and Utah (Tenth Circuit).

The Supreme Court Litigation Clinic represented Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin, the plaintiffs/respondents in the Oklahoma case, entitled Smith v. Bishop.  Despite their longstanding, committed relationship, the couple had been denied the right to legally marry due to an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution passed in 2004 by Oklahoma voters and the legislature. On August 27th, the clinic filed respondents’ brief, urging the Court to grant review and to agree with the Tenth Circuit ruling invalidating this ban on same-sex marriage.

Even though the Court did not grant review, it did allow the Tenth Circuit’s decision to stand.  This order thus represents a major victory for proponents of civil rights.   Within hours of the Court’s announcement, our clients were married in a civil union in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

See coverage in SCOTUSBlog here and here, and The New York Times.   ◊

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